2021 Massachusetts Child Support Guideline Information for Parents

August 10, 2021

2021 Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines & Spousal Support Resources

Every few years Massachusetts redesigns the Child Support Guidelines. Most recently this happened in 2017, 2018 and October of 2021. This page remains up-to-date regarding child support in Massachusetts.

Updated August 24, 2022.

2021 Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines – Starting October 4, 2021

Starting October 4, 2021, Massachusetts will have new Child Support Guidelines.

Introductory Material and Information
- Changes include:
  - A person cannot avoid a child support obligation by choosing to be compensated with stock options or by otherwise reclassifying his or her income.
  - A minimum order of $12 per week, but the Court can reduce it to $0.00.
  - The 2021 guidelines use maximum combined available annual gross income of the parties of $400,000 per year (up from $250,000).
  - Reasonable child care costs of up to $355 per week, per child, due to the gainful employment of either party, are now to be shared in proportion to the parties’ incomes.
  - The new guidelines no longer include the word “litigant” from the Preamble and instead inserting “parties”, recognizing that not all cases involve litigation.

Here are some Massachusetts-based Child Support Worksheets and Apps:

Free: Child Support Guidelines Calculations Worksheet provided by the Probate and Family Court Department is a great tool which calculates child support expenses. If you click on the link above but are not able to access the form, try opening the link in a different browser.
$2.99 (as of July 2020) – A Massachusetts divorce app for the iPhone and iPad from Infinity Law Group. This app calculates both child support and alimony.

Then there are other resources such as: